Control devices, commonly known as energy regulators or infinite switches are used primarily in domestic appliances where it is required to control heating of an element in an oven or a hot plate. The control devices allow electricity through to the elements in pulses and it will be appreciated that longer pulses will lead to higher element temperatures. The length of these pulses can be lengthened or shortened by turning a knob on the control device so as to increase or decrease the element temperature. The knob is attached to an actuator shaft which is generally mounted perpendicular to a mounting plate which also supports a terminal housing. A number of electrical terminals are assembled into the terminal housing by sliding mounting portions of the terminals into slots in the housing extending in a direction perpendicular to the general plane of the mounting plate, i.e. parallel to the actuator shaft. (See FIG. 1) The terminals may be staked to retain them in position.
There are a number of disadvantages inherent in this type of construction. Firstly, the construction requires the use of a separate mounting plate and housing. Secondly, the sliding of the terminals perpendicularly to the mounting plate to assemble the control device necessitates an overall depth of the device which is greater than the length of the terminals since the mounting portions of the terminals extend into slots aligned with the lengthwise direction of the terminals. The staking of the terminals is also an additional assembly step increasing the number of assembly operations.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome at least one of the abovementioned disadvantages or to provide the public with a useful choice.